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In the present study, physical self-schema referred to the perceived body image youths have over their physical appearance. Using a two-item online questionnaire, the study analyzed the effect of physical self-schema acceptance on perceived severity of online aggressiveness in cyberbullying. Five hundred and seven students from Belgium, Spain, Romania, and Turkey participated in the survey. The results suggest that when mapping effects of physical self-schema acceptance on perceived negative effect of online aggressiveness, the curvilinear interaction model (2%) is more robust than the linear interaction model (0.8%), when both models are statistically significant.

The purpose of critical thinking is to enable a complex view of the world. Choices are part of the natural course of life. In order to ensure the best choices, it is necessary to procure the best information. The act of thinking is not difficult, people naturally use thinking without having to exert a great amount of effort or engage in deep intellectual work. Ease of thinking can manifest in very young children with little mental skills. The development of critical thinking is achieved through the instructive-educational process. Self-evaluation is an essential ability of the student in the training and development specific to the early school age, being fundamental for effective learning, professional training, and continuous learning from people's lives. Evaluation is an integral part of the educational process, thus forming the essential relationship between teaching-learning-evaluation. The teaching staff can form and develop the student’s critical thinking and self-evaluation capacity through the instructive-educational process. Using the right methods and techniques, critical thinking will be developed during the educational process, thus participating in the development of students’ self-evaluation. For this purpose, as a research methodology, we conducted a focus group with the teaching staff of the classes involved in the research, totaling four persons. We analyzed the methods and techniques used in the educational activities, their impact on the students' thinking, and how these methods are beneficial in developing critical thinking and self-evaluation.

The Friendship Bridge project is an educational project born from the desire to remove some existing barriers between children, especially between children with special educational requirements and other children, from the desire to achieve the socialization of children with special educational requirements and the development of the associative capacities that determine the children to be able to live in permanent association with others, to be capable of friendly relations and, in particular, to want to maintain connections with their peers. The ongoing project since the fall of 2009 was initiated by the School Center for Inclusive Education No. 3 Oradea in the period 2009-2010, then by the School Center for Inclusive Education Orizont Oradea, in the period 2010-2013, the Teachers Training House of Bihor County in the school year 2013-2014, and the School Center for Inclusive Education No. 1 Oradea in the period 2014-2023. In this paper, we will make a retrospective of the activities carried out within the Friendship Bridge educational project identifying the role and importance of the projects in the integration and socialization of students with special educational requirements.

This research revisits the utilization of prompting as an essential teaching technique in digital pedagogy, taking into account its changing significance in response to technological progress. This study presents a paradigm that highlights the importance of prompting in supporting digital learning environments. It analyzes different types of prompting, their usefulness, and how learning progresses through strategies like fading and shadowing. Additionally, this study examines the practical consequences, implementation processes, and future research issues in the field of digital pedagogy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the psychological impact of AI technology on students' recognition of educational benefits from AI integration, mediated by variation of the psychological influence of AI technology, benefits of rapid feedback provided by AI in the learning process, and perception of AI involvement in career and education. Conducted across six Romanian universities with 675 valid responses, it investigates a sequential mediation model linking AI technology's psychological influence, feedback benefits, career perceptions, and Benefits of AI integration in education. Results reveal a positive influence chain from AI's psychological impact to perceived educational benefits, mediated by rapid feedback provided by AI in the learning process and career perceptions. By highlighting the significance of addressing psychological effects and mediating factors that contribute to effective educational AI integration among Romanian students, an understanding of these dimensions improves AI integration strategies in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The approach to the teaching process is continuously evolving. The main directions of reference are based on the integrated, modern perspective, respectively, of a single discipline, classic. Each of these has distinct benefits. The best framework is probably represented by a fusion of the two. Integrating thematic projects in science teaching at an early stage offers opportunities to develop and capitalize on multiple perspectives from different people's interpretations and diverse disciplinary approaches to a given problem or situation. An integrated approach to learning enables teachers to implement the school's core values in a natural and applied way, thereby elevating the learning experience to foster social-emotional strengths and character development. The research focused mainly on establishing the benefits of the future teacher who will be active in young education. Considering this context, research was conducted among second and third-year students from the primary and preschool education pedagogy area. The main findings that must be underlined relate to the future educator's capacity to implement the new concepts. Even if they were not beneficiaries of the current methods, they can use these successfully and see their benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the application of the Photovoice method to capitalize on cultural activities in the education of rural children at early school age. Photovoice, a participatory research-action methodology, empowers children to capture and reflect on their cultural experiences through photography. The study was conducted in several rural schools, involving children aged 8 to 10. Participants were given cameras and guided to document cultural events, traditions and daily life in their communities. The collected photos were later used as talking points in the school environment, allowing children to articulate their cultural narratives and engage in critical thinking about their heritage. The results indicate that the Photovoice method significantly improves children's engagement and interest in cultural activities, promoting a deeper understanding of their local culture. Visual narratives created by children also served as valuable educational tools for teachers, facilitating a more inclusive and culturally responsive teaching approach. The study highlights the importance of integrating cultural education into the curriculum and demonstrates the potential of Photovoice as an innovative tool for educational development in rural contexts. By valuing and integrating cultural activities of rural communities into the educational framework, this approach contributes to a more equitable and holistic educational experience for young schoolchildren. The study concludes with recommendations for policymakers and educators on implementing the Photovoice method in rural education systems to promote cultural awareness and appreciation among children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a theoretical review of critical thinking by analyzing multiple approaches to the topic. Critical thinking is also called "perfect thinking", being fair and objective thinking. Right thinking involves treating all points of view equally, without reference to one's feelings or interests, or those of a friend, company, community, or nation. It implies adherence to intellectual, uninfluenced standards. Elementary school is the one that provides the foundations of learning, developing students with the skills and abilities needed both for the accumulation of new knowledge and for everyday life. That is why it is important that from an early age, the capacity for self-evaluation is developed to help the student understand his capabilities and to be able to evaluate his knowledge and achievements. This research considers the importance of developing critical thinking from an early age. People who possess critical thinking take information and process it through the filter of their opinions, communicate openly with the people around them, and argue their point of view being certain of their own opinions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically multicultural European areas display a tendency towards openness and sociability that transcends mere geographics. In ensuring that the youth of diversified ethnic populations attain life skills, the school community ought to provide the means for such social capital to build networks of interethnic school and social relationships by designing guidelines to help relate and work together on school and community projects. Hence, the necessity arose for soft skills in the respective teams working towards shared goals and transferrable objectives in the framework of set task. The present article not only develops on the key concepts, but as practical application project work, it can serve as incentive for extended use in later years, a conducive toolkit along the adulthood pathway. Furthermore, the research conducted as follow-up project validation consists of a 1-5 Likert scale conducted among 81 highschoolers in West Romania. Were such multiethnic teamwork as good practice example applied in blended learning contexts, repeatedly and purposefully, interpersonal skills and effective communication, not only within the school community, but also in non-formal contexts would be acquired and attained with increased levels of trust. Thus, highschoolers would be equipped for achieving the ends set within the school educational environment, as well as for fulfilling the lifelong occupational and personal development agenda. Such project-based work, easily extensive to interschool similar multiethnic student team structures, might trigger similar proactive future attitudes for the students on the brim of maturity, whereas meaningful insights into the validated pattern will undoubtedly trigger societal active participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study realizes a theoretical approach that reviews the literature by bringing key arguments and concepts that support the introduction of multimodal text in the school curriculum as a support in learning and understanding texts for students in the developmental curriculum cycle. Definitions of key concepts regarding multimodal text, comics, literacy, literacy are highlighted. From a conceptual point of view we are trying to formulate certain concepts and to emphasize the need to introduce multimodal text in the primary school curriculum, thus helping teachers and students through recreational activities that will lead to the development of literacy. With the help of multimodal text you develop: the ability to interpret a text, improve critical thinking, lifelong learning, effective communication and last but not least adaptability. A multimodal text is characterized by the fact that it is a literary narrative text in which two or more modes of communication (written, read, spoken) are combined in order to convey information through spoken or written language in combination with images, sounds, gestures and lights. We believe that multimodal text plays a significant role in the development of literacy, contributing to the formation of competent and critical readers and communicators. The interaction between literacy and multimodal text promotes a deeper and more nuanced understanding of information, essential for active and informed participation in contemporary society [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores an experimental approach to developing and assessing the STEAM-type behaviors in kindergarten children through extracurricular activities. STEAM education, encompassing the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, is increasingly recognized for its potential to foster creativity, problem-solving and critical thinking, specific to preschool stage. The research was conducted with a middle group of 5-6-year-olds from a kindergarten in Arad, Romania. The experimental group consisting of 24 preschoolers and the control group of 24 preschoolers were evaluated. A STEAM behavior assessment grid was developed, encompassing five dimensions, each with five items. Twenty-four students used this evaluation grid to assess two children each, one from experimental class and one from control class, during both pretest and posttest stages. The STEAM behavior assessment grid focused on key areas such as curiosity, creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and problem-solving. The study's methodology ensured a comprehensive evaluation by involving pre-service teachers in the assessment process, thereby also contributing to their professional development. The innovative activities were structured to encourage active engagement and foster a deeper understanding of STEAM concepts. The results of the experimental research reveal that children in the experimental group exhibited a notable enhancement in STEAM-related behaviors compared to those in the control group. More specific, the experimental class showed increased abilities in creativity, problemsolving, and collaboration. These findings suggest that the integration of STEAM-focused extracurricular activities can significantly impact the developmental trajectories of young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rate of development of educational technologies has implications not only for the technical capacity of an educational institution to provide hardware and software solutions for the existing learning environment, but also for pedagogical practices that are influenced by stakeholders' acceptance of new technologies. Effective use of emerging technologies requires training future and actual teachers with professional digital literacy skills that provide pathways for connecting best educational practices with modern digital technology-based enhancements to increase the quality of learning environment through the integration of educational technologies, especially in terms of educational agents' perceptions of the effectiveness of technology in delivering educational content and acquiring knowledge. In studies on technology acceptance, the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the technology acceptance model (TAM) are commonly used to explore the factors that affect users’ intentions to adopt educational technology and less so to study the motivations of pre-service or/and in-service teachers for accepting and integrating emerging technologies into pedagogical practices. This study addresses TRA and TAM to design a framework built on constructs as perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norms, attitude toward use, behavioral intention, intention to use for explaining or predicting students and teachers' intentions to adopt and use emerging technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Educatia 21 is the property of Babes-Bolyai University, Faculty of Psychology & Educational Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Educatia 21 is the property of Babes-Bolyai University, Faculty of Psychology & Educational Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Educatia 21 is the property of Babes-Bolyai University, Faculty of Psychology & Educational Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Educatia 21 is the property of Babes-Bolyai University, Faculty of Psychology & Educational Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Multicultural schools are not merely schools where students of different ethnic groups or nationalities learn together, but primarily they are schools with an ethos. The facets and characteristics of such schools impact the learning trajectories of students and inclusive practices are the norm there. The effective implementation of such practices, the strategies for keeping the learning environment inclusive, alongside preserving identities and fostering developmental pathways are core values in multicultural schools. The article aims at highlighting the importance of salient features of such schools and the implementation of case studies provides models and frameworks to be observed. Furthermore, a skill set that promotes critical thinking and problem-solving in the context of blended learning, alongside the face-to-face one, are core competences in a multicultural learning environment. The identity construction of each ethnic group needs to blend into an educational environment that fosters unswerving cross-cultural teaching. Inclusion and integration are part of a student-centered approach to teaching, in schools where means and methods are tailored to address the specific needs of the student, turning a dependable child into an autonomous adult, regardless of the diverse socioeconomic or cultural backgrounds students come from. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]